Cooks With Books Blog

Nancy Wong's Mediterranean Prawns

This dish is inspired by the tapas style dishes I’ve been served in Mediterranean countries. There are tons of variations. It would probably serve four as an appetizer or two as a main. I buy sustainably-harvested BC spot prawns or side-stripe prawns. If I am feeling lazy, I pay a little extra and get them already cleaned. ~ Nancy

Ingredients:

250g (or ½ lb) large prawn tails (cleaned and de-veined)

1 teaspoon sea salt (fleur de sel or Maldon)

¼ - ½ cup good extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 bay leaf

1 or 2 fresh small red chilies (depending on how spicy you want the dish), seeded, de-veined and chopped (or you can substitute 1” piece of dried red chili, chopped)

Splash of dry white wine

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced

Method:

Place prawn tails in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss. Let stand for 15 minutes.

In a medium pan on medium high, heat olive oil. Add garlic, bay leaf, and chilies. Sauté for one minute, stirring constantly. Do not let the garlic burn.

Add prawns and sauté until cooked through (about 3 minutes), turning once. Add a splash of white wine. Remove from heat and sprinkle with parsley.

I serve this in a shallow bowl with lots of crusty bread and a crisp green salad. Any leftovers can be refrigerated and either served at room temperature the next day or tossed over hot pasta.

Nancy Wong owns and operates Culinary Communications and is also the Director of Marketing for Vancouver TheatreSports League.